


Death Grip

by blue_veins



Series: The Blood is Love au [11]
Category: Rusty Quill RPF
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Thoughts about Murder, but hoooboy do they have them, gunshot wound and care, its just how he works XD, these two cannot talk feelings, to be fair ben is usually having thoughts about murder in this au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26590534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_veins/pseuds/blue_veins
Summary: Alex gets shot, and Ben needs to perform minor surgery.
Relationships: Ben Meredith/Alexander J. Newall
Series: The Blood is Love au [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1878586
Kudos: 5





	Death Grip

**Author's Note:**

> I've been watching a lot of Peaky Blinders, and I keep catching Alex feels. So this happened.
> 
> my usual shout out to the darling felineladyy, who finally got me to watch peaky blinders and also has Alex feels XD 
> 
> title is from the song of the same name by Morosity.

Ben kicked open the door to the bedroom of his and Alex’s shitty flat (he’d have to fix that later) with Alex’s arm wrapped around his shoulders and Ben’s arm wrapped around his waist carrying the majority of his weight. Alex groaned as Ben laid him on the bed before he started to gather some supplies. He doused his knife and the smallest pliers he could find in alcohol, and placed them on a clean towel next to a bunch of gauze and bandages.

He handed the whiskey to Alex, who took a swig before putting it on the floor. Meanwhile Ben took one of his non-sterilized knives and sliced open Alex’s shirt to get a better look at the gunshot wound still oozing blood. Luckily it wasn’t anywhere too vital, that meaty space between shoulder and chest. Ben didn’t hear any sucking sounds as he leaned in close, and Alex wasn’t having trouble breathing, so lungs should be all set. All he needed to do was get the bullet out.

Ben got his limited tools ready, “Alright, take a deep breath, baby.” Which was the only warning Ben gave before he went digging into the wound. Alex had done a good job of not making too much noise so far, but there was nothing he could do to stop it now. Growling, and yelling through gritted teeth as Ben dug around inside his shoulder to pull out the one bullet that got through their defenses. Impressively enough, Alex managed to stay relatively still throughout, allowing Ben to work. Though Ben wouldn’t be surprised if there were indents in the wood of the headboard after this. 

Eventually Ben felt the distinctive vibration of metal on metal, and smiled to himself, he maneuvered the pliers just so and was able to grab and pull the bullet out. Alex’s sharp gasp morphed into a sob. 

Ben grabbed the whiskey from the floor with a bloody hand and poured it onto the would, causing Alex to shout and grasp Ben’s upper arm leaving his own bloody handprint there. “Almost done darling, let me just sew you up.” 

Alex nodded, breathing heavily, hand not letting go of Ben’s arm. That was fine, Ben would still be able to work, and his tight grip was honestly grounding, reminding him that Alex was there. He was going to be fine. 

But before he could continue, he had to do one thing, which was lean in and kiss Alex long and deep. Alex’s hand tightened at his shoulder and Ben brought his hand up to cup his cheek, heedless of the blood. He just. He needed Alex to be okay.

Once he started, it didn’t take him long to sew Alex up, and after he took a damp cloth, gently wiping away the majority of the blood from both of them. He carefully bandaged the wound before settling in next to Alex, who shifted, wincing, to get comfortable as Ben wrapped his arms around him. 

Now that Alex was safe, everything was really sinking in, and Ben couldn’t stop thinking about just how fucking close he had been to losing Alex. Watching the gun get pulled and aimed at Alex, being too far away to get there in time. Ben was fast with his knives, but throwing a knife still took longer than pulling a trigger. Watching Alex go down in slow motion. The surprise, absolute fear, and utter  _ rage _ that toiled through him was so strong and visceral. Ben just wanted to slaughter the world, find each and every person involved and personally slit their throats, but there was only one person there, and they were already dead. 

Kneeling down next to Alex to find him still breathing, and it not being a critical hit, eased his initial panic enough to call James to get him to clean up the body. It left Ben free to care of Alex, who refused to go to the hospital until they knew who was behind this (which was honestly a valid response, he’d be too vulnerable in a hospital). So Ben had shoved aside all his feelings so he could take care of Alex. 

Ben was brought back to the present as Alex whimpered, which was when Ben realized he had tightened his grip around Alex.

“Ah, fuck.” Ben whispered, and proceeded to loosen up, when Alex stopped him with his good arm, just a soft touch to the back of his shoulder, and gave a little shake of his head.

Apparently it wasn’t only Ben who was having feelings, (not like either of them were about to talk about them, but they were there) so he rewrapped his arm around Alex, a bit more carefully this time, and rested his other hand on the side of Alex’s neck so he could gently brush his thumb against his temple.

It still surprised Ben just how strongly he felt for Alex, complicated emotions mixed and tangled together. It surprised him how much the thought of losing Alex scared him witless. The image of Alex, still, on the floor, wouldn’t leave his mind, and he knew it would haunt him for a long time. But for now, Ben and Alex lay together, not taking their eyes off each other, just watching, constantly reassuring the other was still there, still alive, still safe. Neither of them fell asleep for quite some time, and even after Alex eventually drifted off, Ben continued to watch him until early morning light.

As soon as they found out who had been behind this. Ben was going to burn every single one of them to the ground. 


End file.
